Portraits of Us

It’s easy to feel voiceless in a big room
You show me steal the mic if I have to
All that brain, you took it beyond the classroom
You do it all, so you know I gotta gas you 
Seeing the future, it’s Ethereal Visions 
CEO of the business 
So touched by the lyrics 
Screaming “Hell Yeah” real live in the city 
Delivering impact bounced back, we been building 
So tell the kids it’s no limit 
We breaking down glass ceilings 
Cause all these problems systemic
But you’re expanding access 
So we got the proper assets
So these artists got the full package
And lay it all out 
See what needs to change 
Look at what’s being stripped away 
Budget cuts keep a bunch from getting paid 
You’re rallying, testimony on stage

We all say the youth is our future 
But you take the time to pour into 
We all say the youth is our future 
But you take the time to pour into 

Momma of two 
Creating life, keeping culture
World citizen and a next-door neighbor 
Rooted in Roxbury, seeing it’s ever changing 
Pushing us out, classic gentrification 
But you’re expanding access 
So the lil ones have a platform 
So these families know they have more 
Bridging the gap with love you empower
Our actions have impact, and you’re a role model
We need to protect legacies 
Care for our community 
Like how you’re cleaning up your streets 
We all working for some peace 

We all say the youth is our future 
But you take the time to pour into 
We all say the youth is our future 
But you take the time to pour into

You found me at the pound,

between Allston and Brighton town

I found you on Grindr, like a brave lil’ lotus in the swamp

A flower in the dead of winter

before rot settles in at night

I found you, I found you, I found you

You took me in

And I set my roots down

You nurtured

You nurtured

You nurtured

You nurtured me

And my flowers bloomed loud

We escaped from,

That cesspool,

We left them,

Those guys who,

Just see us,

As nothing,

More than the,

Meat on our bones

I found you, I found you, I found you

You took me in

And I set my roots down

You nurtured

You nurtured

You nurtured

You nurtured me

And my flowers bloomed loud

I remember I was bound by chains, in a jungle that I called home.

In a place where becoming better wasn’t an option, it was a never accomplished idea.

Summer died before the wind grew cold.

Who am I now? There, I’m a phantom from afar. Here, I’m a stranger in the sun.

I am a son of God.

(Verse 1)
My whole world was see in a black and white view
Now I see that there’s so many other colors not just gray hues
The smile on your face is engraved int my mind
You’re the map to my future and I’ve never seen it this defined

(Chorus)
I see now
That there is light 
I see now
Why I will fight
Your silhouette 
In the tunnel
Beckoned me 
So I ran towards the light

(Verse 2)
My body was held by yours tails wagging

You stretched the neck of my sweater and stuck your head right in there with me

We planted seeds in the garden till stems broke free 

We are homemade beef stew while watching stupid TV

(Chorus 2)
I see now
Your onyx eyes
I see now
Our planned demise
You sat right there
Looks right at me
Took my paw
And I took yours in mine

Our matching nails
Against the world

(Instrumental)

Your tone of voice is like a big blue sky of gray,
A warm breeze on a calm day,
You never seem to stray.

88 keys, you resemble them all,
you’re in tune with all your songs.
I love the way you smile at the sun,
even on a cloudy day, even when it rains.

The melody of you never seems to fade,
You’re always in my mind,
I always think of your melody,
it’s stuck in my mind.

Your song repeats in my head,
like a broken record on display.
I love the way we laugh.

You always find a way no matter near or far or miles apart.
I’m sitting here listening to the songs we play,
thinking you’re my everything, and I love you.

The melody of you never seems to fade,
You’re always in my mind,
I always think of your melody,
it’s stuck in my mind,
my mind, my mind, my mind,
You’re always on my mind, my mind, my mind,
My melody of you.

Friday nights it’s alright to have someone to talk to

I don’t know what it’s like still just know I got you 

You 

You don’t know you’re my hero, I know sometimes you can’t feel okay, but I know you’re trying to find your way 

look alive you know I’ve felt the same you got a heart and you got a lotta brains you know I’m just saying 

Friday nights it’s alright to have someone to talk to

I don’t know what it’s like still just know I got you 

You 

Remember when we became friends you know that I’ll remember those days joy without all  these problems in the way

You’re my guy ill listen to what you say it’s harder now but you show up anyways just listen what I’m saying 

Friday nights it’s alright to have someone to talk to

I don’t know what it’s like still just know I got you 

Just know I got you

Time for bed I cut the lights 

I’m dreaming of these songs we’ll write 

 other half of my mind

Always shine your creative light

Friday nights are alright to have some songs we’re singing 

Now I know what it’s like to have a friend that’s bringing 

All his soul 

Through some notes 

Not a singer but I’m singing anyways

I’m dedicating to a friend who finds a way 

To take some pain out of my life im glad to know it’ll alright

You know what im just saying 

Friday nights are alright to have someone who’s singing

I hope know the reasons why, why I believe in you

I believe in you

Know you believe in me and 

I Believe in you 

Like you believe in me 

hope you’re believing me 

When I say believe in yourself

She’s six, told the words that she says are wrong,
but the new ones they give her feel like they don’t belong to her.
She’s nine, right words betrayed by the wrong accent:
step aside, sit in the corner, go home—but where is home?

She’s twelve, right words, right accent now, but still the wrong shade,
and she feels their fearful eyes. And she asks herself—

“What words will make me? What words create me?
What can I choose to say to make it through the day?
What words might trap me? What words set me free?
What can I choose to say to make my own way?”

She’s twenty-six, he’s eight, feels like he’s under a microscope,
and she sees his face stuck somewhere between fear and hope,
but his profe wears the same skin, and she’s shaken off the fear
and she wears her words like a celebration, and she says—

“Keep all your old words; they are a part of you,
There’s no need for you to give them away.
Yes, keep your old words and take the new ones too,
How can you use them to make your own way?”

She’s thirty-two, he’s fourteen, crossing paths by the sea.
“Hi miss,” he says. “Is that your baby?”
Right words, because they’re his. “Can I hold him?”
And she lets his words and the ocean breeze
blow away the fears she didn’t see she still held close.
And she thinks—

“These words have made us. These words created us.
What can we choose to say to let somebody in?
These words crossed oceans. These words built futures.
And every day we can choose how to begin.”

And as she smiles, she says in their shared old words “Claro.”

made with love
and cups of sugar
sweet and tough
never bitter

she's the neighbor
who'd bake a cake for your kids and
take any drive deliverin

midnight struck
witching hour
casting spells with eggs and flour
her magic comes alive each night
as she dances around underneath the moon light

and what a way to live
to be someone who gives
their heart to what they love
and shares it with a hug

and what a time to say
im grateful for each day
i see her smiling face
the sweetness of her ways